A. Severance tax bonds and supplemental severance tax bonds shall be sold by the state board of finance at such times and in such manner as the board may elect, consistent with the need of the board, commission or agency that is the recipient of the bond money, to the highest bidder for cash at not less than par and accrued interest.

B. The state board of finance shall publish a notice of the time and place of sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the state, and also in a recognized financial journal outside the state. Such publication shall be made once at least five business days prior to the date fixed for such sale. Such notice shall specify the amount, denomination, maturity and description of the bonds to be offered for sale and the place, day and hour at which bids therefor shall be received and publicly examined. All bids shall be sealed or sent by facsimile or other electronic transmission to the state board of finance as set forth in the notice. All bids, except that of the state, shall be accompanied by a deposit of two percent of the bid price, either in the form of a financial surety bond or in cash or by cashier's check or treasurer's check of, or by certified check drawn on, a solvent commercial bank or trust company in the United States. The financial surety bond or the long-term debt obligations of the issuer or person guarantying the obligations of the issuer of the financial surety bond shall be rated in one of the top two rating categories of a nationally recognized rating agency, without regard to any modification of the rating, and the financial surety bond shall be issued by an insurance company licensed to issue such a bond in New Mexico. Deposits of unsuccessful bidders shall be returned upon rejection of the bid.

C. At the time and place specified in such notice, bids shall be publicly examined and the bonds, or any part thereof, shall be awarded to the bidder or bidders offering the best price therefor. Before delivering any bonds sold, the state treasurer shall detach therefrom and cancel all interest coupons that may have matured prior to the date of delivery. The state board of finance may reject any or all bids and readvertise. The state board of finance may sell a severance tax bond or supplemental severance tax bond issue, or any part thereof, to the state at private sale.

History: 1953 Comp., § 72-18-42, enacted by Laws 1961, ch. 5, § 15; 1999 (1st S.S.), ch. 6, § 10; 2001, ch. 37, § 2.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, in Subsection B, changed the requirement that the publication of notice be made once each week for two consecutive weeks prior to the sale date, the last publication of which to be at least ten days prior to the date of sale, to the publication be made at least five business days prior to the sale date; deleted "sealed" preceding "bids therefor" and inserted "and publicly examined" and the following sentence; inserted the language beginning "either in the form of a financial surety bond" and ending "licensed to issue such a bond in New Mexico"; in Subsection C, substituted "bids shall be publicly examined and" for "the state board of finance shall open the bids in public and shall award" and inserted "shall be awarded" preceding "to the bidder".

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, added the subsection designations; inserted "and supplemental severance tax bonds" in Subsection A; substituted "two percent" for "five percent" in the next-to-last sentence in Subsection B; inserted "or supplemental severance tax bond" in the last sentence in Subsection C; and made minor stylistic changes.